French patent document FR-A-2 792 722 discloses a hemispherical resonator comprising a metallized bell-shaped vibrating member fixed on a base which carries main electrodes extending facing an edge of the bell and a shield electrode adjacent to the main electrodes.
The main electrodes serve firstly to set the bell into vibration by applying at least one alternating voltage to the main electrodes while also maintaining the bell at constant potential, and secondly to detect vibration of the bell by picking up a detection signal from the main electrodes.
In that embodiment, the shield electrode is grounded and serves to reduce cross-talk between the electrodes.